Joshua 1:1-9

Setting: Following the death of Moses. Time of transition.

Context: This is the first of the historical books of the Old Testament. Moses has faithfully led the people out of Egypt through the deliverance brought about by God so that they would worship and serve the Lord and lay hold of the promise given through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Deuteronomy 34:1–12 ESV

Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the Valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. And the Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, ‘I will give it to your offspring.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.” So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord, and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day. Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eye was undimmed, and his vigor unabated. And the people of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended. And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the people of Israel obeyed him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses. And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.

Proposition: God’s Promises Endure

God’s Promises Outlast Death (vs. 1-4)

Moses was known as a servant of the Lord.

Joshua was an assistant to the servant

God subverts our expectations, because you and I might think that the first thing God will say in this new chapter is to set up a monument. Rightly, there was a time to mourn, a time to lament. Thirty days of mourning had lasted. But now, knowing that the promises of God have yet to be fulfilled, God make the announcement to Joshua,

2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel.

3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses.

4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory.

Just as God had promised back in Genesis 12, he was now going to fulfill that promise.

“Yahweh’s fidelity does not hinge on the achievements of men, however gifted they may be, nor does it evaporate in the face of funerals or rivers.” (Dale Ralph Davis)

God’s Presence Brings Courage (Vs. 5-7)

5 eNo man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just fas I was with Moses, so gI will be with you. hI will not leave you or forsake you.

6 iBe strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.

7 Only be strong and jvery courageous, being careful to do according to all the law kthat Moses my servant commanded you. lDo not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success1 wherever you go.

8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but myou shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

9 Have I not commanded you? nBe strong and courageous. oDo not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

Matt. 28 provides the same assurance to the disciples. following the command to his followers, “ Lo, I am with you always even to the end of the age.’

The same promise of God’s presence is given to us !

God Prospers the obedient (Vs. 7-8)

The falsehood of the prosperity gospel is not in believing that God wants to prosper His people. The error comes in thinking that prosperity looks like the American Dream. God says

To write a letter to a loved one and say, “I pray you are doing well” is not wrong! The Apostle John says the same thing in 3 John 2, “Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.” But we see that John has the same goal and desire that the Lord does, that they would prosper. But the goal of godly prosperity is not in treasures that rot, and rust, and run away. The prosperity that the Lord desires is for your soul to prosper. It can be a seemingly cheesy question and I’ve both asked it and had it asked of me before, but the question, “How is your soul?” Is important! How is your soul? Is it fed? What is not only coming in to your ears and eyes, but what is coming out of your mouth?

What does this prosperity look like?

Obedience to the will and word of God.

God will not bless a vacillating and unfaithful people.

The power of God is poured out upon the people of God as we obey the law of God. What is it to be courageous? Perhaps you are walking about with a secret unconfessed sin in your life. That sin may be hidden from others, but it is not hidden from God. Perhaps the act of courage that God is calling you to today is confessing that sin to another believer and turning from it.

May the Word of God never depart from your mouth! May people say, “They are always talking about God over at that church!” Is our faith is merely an exercise in intellectualism, or if we believe that our faith is merely a personal matter, a private matter that we are to keep hidden under a bushel? May it not be!

What does it mean to meditate upon the word of God?